Skipping radio/television program segments

Abstract

Techniques for notifying at least one entity of an occurrence of an event in an audio signal are provided. At least one preference is obtained from the at least one entity. An occurrence of an event in the audio signal is determined. The event is related to at least one of at least one speaker and at least one topic. The at least one entity is notified of the occurrence of the event in the audio signal, in accordance with the at least one preference.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for notifying at least one entity of an occurrence of an event in an audio signal, the method comprising:
 obtaining at least one preference from the at least one entity; 
 processing the audio signal to determine an occurrence of an event therein based on the audio signal, wherein the event comprises recognizing a speaker; and 
 notifying the at least one entity of the occurrence of the event in the audio signal, in accordance with the at least one preference. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the audio signal is from at least one of a television transmission and a radio transmission. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the event further comprises recognizing at least one speaker speaking, at least one speaker beginning to speak, or at least one speaker no longer speaking. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one preference comprises at least one of a speaker of interest, and a speaker of disinterest. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of processing the audio signal to determine an occurrence of an event therein based on the audio signal further comprises the step of detecting a change in at least one speaker. 
     
     
       6. An article of manufacture for notifying at least one entity of an occurrence of an event in an audio signal, the article comprising a computer readable storage medium including one or more programs, which when executed by a computer implement the steps of  claim 1 . 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein processing the audio signal to determine an occurrence of an event further comprises determining an occurrence of at least one topic. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the event further comprise at least one of an existence of the at least one topic, an initiation of the at least one topic, and a termination of the at least one topic. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one preference further comprises at least one of a topic of interest, a topic of disinterest, a program of interest, a program of disinterest, a period of time, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the step of processing the audio signal to determine an occurrence of an event therein based on the audio signal further comprises the step of detecting a change in the at least one topic. 
     
     
       11. An apparatus for notifying at least one entity of an occurrence of an event in an audio signal, the apparatus comprising:
 a memory; and 
 at least one processor coupled to the memory and operative to: obtain at least one preference from the at least one entity; process the audio signal to determine an occurrence of an event therein based on the audio signal, wherein the event comprises recognizing a speaker; and notify the at least one entity of the occurrence of the event in the audio signal, in accordance with the at least one preference. 
 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the event further comprises recognizing at least one speaker speaking, at least one speaker beginning to speak, or at least one speaker no longer speaking. 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein in the operation of processing the audio signal to determine an occurrence of an event therein based on the audio signal, the at least one processor is further operative to detect a change in at least one speaker. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor further processes the audio signal to determine an occurrence of at least one topic. 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the event further comprises at least one of an existence of the at least one topic, an initiation of the at least one topic, and a termination of the at least one topic. 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein in the operation of processing the audio signal to determine an occurrence of an event therein based on the audio signal, the at least one processor is further operative to detect a change in the at least one topic. 
     
     
       17. A system for notifying at least one entity of an occurrence of an event in an audio signal, the system comprising:
 a preference interface for obtaining at least one preference from the at least one entity; 
 an audio processor for processing the audio signal to determine an occurrence of an event therein based on the audio signal, wherein the event comprises recognizing a speaker; and 
 a notification component for notifying the at least one entity of the occurrence of the event in the audio signal, in accordance with the at least one preference. 
 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the audio processing component comprises a speaker change detection component configured to detect a change in at least one speaker. 
     
     
       19. A computer program product for notifying at least one entity of an occurrence of an event in an audio signal, the computer program product comprising:
 a computer readable storage medium; 
 a first program instruction to obtain at least one preference from the at least one entity; 
 a second program instruction to process the audio signal to determine an occurrence of an event therein based on the audio signal, wherein the event comprises recognizing a speaker; and 
 a third program instruction to notify the at least one entity of the occurrence of the event in the audio signal, in accordance with the at least one preference, 
 wherein the first, second, and third program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium.